From 750m miles away, a glimpse of a frozen, ancient Earth
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14/01/2005
Triumphant climax to 20-year project as European probe breaks through to Saturn's moon Titan, revealing rocks, rivers and perhaps a sea. Scientists last night unveiled an aerial study of an alien world, across a distance of more than 750 million miles. From an altitude of 10 miles, a little European robot equipped with camera and microphone took the first picture of the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. Below the thick methane haze, the descending intruder saw evidence of a shoreline - and perhaps a sea or an ocean - and the telltale pattern of drainage. Close-up pictures from the surface of Titan revealed an enigmatic landscape of eroded boulders.